Ex-Gov Pat McCory: LGBT Community “Lost The Battle” On HB2

In the wake of North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper signing the compromise HB2 repeal into law, his predecessor, Pat McCrory, is claiming the LGBT community has suffered a defeat.

McCrory, who hastily signed the measure into law last year—and defended it until he left office, appeared to be gloating in an interview with anti-LGBT activist Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council.

“The good news is this: the HRC lost the battle,” McCrory boasted. “With their resources and power and money, and their trying to get some other corporations to help support them in the battle…[The] fact of the matter is, they did not get a full repeal of HB2.”

House Bill 142 repealed HB2, but also puts a moratorium on local municipalities passing LGBT protections until 2020. Cooper acknowledged the compromise was “not a perfect deal or my preferred solution,” but slammed McCrory’s comments.

“Pat McCrory doesn’t have any credibility on the issue as the person who signed the law that got North Carolina into this mess,” said Cooper spokesperson Sadie Weiner. “Governor Cooper signed the new law that repealed HB2, saying it is a step forward but not the only step. He supports statewide protections for LGBT North Carolinians and will keep working for them.”

huck Liddy/Raleigh News & Observer/TNS via Getty Images

LGBT activists, meanwhile, have derided it as a copout.

“After more than a year of inaction, Governor Cooper and North Carolina lawmakers doubled-down on discrimination,’’ said HRC’s Chad Griffin. “This new law does not repeal HB2. Instead, it… fuels the flames of anti-transgender hate.”

Griffin said Cooper and lawmaker who supported the measure “betrayed the LGBTQ community.”

After the compromise was signed, the ACC announced Friday it has restored North Carolina’s eligibility to host championship games. On Tuesday, the NCAA also lifted its ban—”reluctantly,” the organization said in a statement—paving the way for tournaments to return to the state.

“[North Carolina has] minimally achieved a situation where we believe NCAA championships may be conducted in a nondiscriminatory environment.”

HB 142’s ban on local LGBT protections, interestingly enough, ends one month after North Carolina’s next gubernatorial election.